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Publication Abstract from PubMed

The synthesis of quinolinic acid from tryptophan is a critical step in the de novo biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) in mammals. Herein, the nonheme iron-based 3-hydroxyanthranilate-3,4-dioxygenase responsible for quinolinic acid production was studied by performing time-resolved in crystallo reactions monitored by UV-vis microspectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. Seven catalytic intermediates were kinetically and structurally resolved in the crystalline state, and each accompanies protein conformational changes at the active site. Among them, a monooxygenated, seven-membered lactone intermediate as a monodentate ligand of the iron center at 1.59-A resolution was captured, which presumably corresponds to a substrate-based radical species observed by EPR using a slurry of small-sized single crystals. Other structural snapshots determined at around 2.0-A resolution include monodentate and subsequently bidentate coordinated substrate, superoxo, alkylperoxo, and two metal-bound enol tautomers of the unstable dioxygenase product. These results reveal a detailed stepwise O-atom transfer dioxygenase mechanism along with potential isomerization activity that fine-tunes product profiling and affects the production of quinolinic acid at a junction of the metabolic pathway.

Observing 3-hydroxyanthranilate-3,4-dioxygenase in action through a crystalline lens.,Wang Y, Liu KF, Yang Y, Davis I, Liu A Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jul 30. pii: 2005327117. doi:, 10.1073/pnas.2005327117. PMID:32732435^[2]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.